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YOUTH VOICE, YOUTH ACTION GIRLS TAKE THE LEAD, is a youth campaign seeking to support, empower, inspire and equip vulnerable young girls living with HIV and who are teenage mothers with knowledge and information on their on their Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and livelihood skills for sustainability.

Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum joined the Youth Policy Think Tank and Kawala Health Center 3 to celebrate the Post international Youth Day under the theme: "Youth Civic participation" Giving Adolescents free space to voice out their needs. The Post International Youth Day Celebrations were held on Saturday 27th August 2016 at Kawala Health Center 3.

Today, the Agenda 2030 CSO Core Reference Group[1] launches a local campaign dubbed ‘Tondeka Mabega’ – Leave No One Behind Citizen Dialogues. The Citizen Dialogues are a campaign aimed at amplifying the voices of marginalized groups and demand for a fundamental shift in national and global policy commitments to ensure that we end inequality and poverty which perpetuate human suffering. The dialogues will build momentum for all citizens across Uganda to participate in the implementation and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at all levels using local, national and global resources.

We all recall that September 2015 was the official launch of the bold and transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) that was adopted by the world leaders at the United Nations. It is now one year since the launch. The world has 15 years to achieve this ambitious program. With 17 SDGs and 165 targets, this is a daunting task for the global community, but there is no looking back.

‘Leave No One Behind’ is a key phrase that captures this global commitment. It is a nice sounding phrase but one that can turn into rhetoric very quickly. As world leaders prepare for the UN Summit in September 2016 to review the first year of implementation of the SDGs, we think they need to pay more attention to the idea of ‘leaving no one behind’.

In order for the world leaders to pay attention, we have decided to ensure that we amplify the voices of the poor and marginalized to our policy makers here in Kampala and to the world leaders in New York in September 2016.

‘Tondeka Mabega’ – Leave No One Behind Citizen Dialogues will take place in remote communities across Uganda among people whose voices are not always heard. We shall record these voices and ensure that these voices reach our leaders in different parts of the country. ‘Tondeka Mabega’ – Leave No One Behind Citizen Dialogues are not just an exercise in making meek demands to government, but are also a process of documenting the different ways in which people who are ‘left behind’ are doing something to catch up with the world and how those who are not behind can support.

Today, as citizens of Uganda we are saddened that while poverty levels have reduced the number of ‘backsliders’ has risen. Of those households that escaped poverty between 2005 and 2009, around 40% were again living in poverty by 2011. This is an unacceptable. We have to find out from them what is happening and what as a country we can do, so we do not take two steps forward and four steps backward.

In September 2015, world leaders from 193 countries gathered in New York in the United States of America to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals, a trans-formative agenda that will drive the world's development for the next 15 years. The SDG's build on both the finished and unfinished business of the MDGs.

The SDGs commonly known as agenda 20130 is anchored on four major principals namely; universal, sustainability, Leaving No One Behind and participation.

The SDGs are aimed at ending poverty, tackling inequality, and combating climate change.

Unlike the MDGs, the SDGs are people centered as their design process was more participatory.

The participatory process of the SDGs, puts citizens at the Center of their success, hence calling for active involvement of citizen in their implementation.

Citizens also have a huge task of holding leaders accountable to the SDGs through citizen led accountability processes.

One key group that should never be left out of the the SDG process are the young people. The world today is home to 1.8 Billion Young People between ages 10 - 24.

Though this may seem a challenging scenario, its in fact an opportunity. How we meet the needs and aspirations of our young people will determine the success of the SDGS, end poverty and unemployment, end discrimination and reduce social inequality, reduce mortality and morbidity including maternal mortality and morbidity and ensure environmental sustainability and economic growth.

Therefore, Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum is joining the rest of the CSO s in Uganda to launch and implement the #TondekaMabega campaign. This campaign is aimed at sensitizing communities about SDGs, promoting dialogue and amplifying the voices on citizens in advocacy and accountability for SDGs.

Uganda Youth and adolescents Health Forum is keen not so seen the Leave No One behind phrase turn into rhetoric.

We shall do all that is within our means to sensitize young people about the SDGs and empower them to advocate and and hold to account their leaders for successful implementation of these goal.

Young people under the leadership of AfriYAN Uganda and Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum in partnership with White Ribbon Alliance Uganda petitioned the Prime minister of Uganda and called on government to develop a multi-sectoral plan to End Teenage Pregnancy.